Putting climate change at the top of the business agenda

Are you doing your bit to help the environment when you wash your dishes?

We at RB certainly are.

 
As the issue of the environment is all over the news at the moment with world leaders meeting at the UN Climate Change Summit, I wanted to highlight an important RB initiative: Our Home Our Planet – or OHOP.

I want to show you what RB does to help carbon reduction and how the company is helping the consumer make a change.
Sometimes people forget about environmental issues, and don’t give them the right attention.
But the OHOP initiative is RBs front-facing consumer communication part of a global commitment to tackle climate change. It is being tackled through Carbon 20, a major initiative to reduce the total carbon footprint of the company by 20% per unit by 2020.

Also, this week it was announced that RB has entered two new important Sustainability Indices – the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) and the company has also been named by the Carbon Disclosure Project as one of the top global corporations tackling climate change.

Last year I was working with some projects under the Finish brand, and one of them was related to OHOP.
We were studying how we could help consumers, to educate them about dishwashers and how they could make a difference.
We decided to talk about saving energy and water while washing your dishes!
Most consumers have the wrong impression that dishwasher machines waste water and energy. They don’t.
And if used properly they can actually use less water and energy than traditional hand washing.
So this initiative was to educate consumers about it. Tips are printed on Finish packaging and also on the website.

But how does all of this help with the big picture?
The OHOP initiative is about the complete product lifecycle, from raw materials to the consumer’s dustbin and beyond.
Although Reckitt Benckiser has been recognized as a sustainability leader, the biggest impact on the total carbon footprint of our products can be attributed to the consumer usage part of a product’s lifecycle – it is between 60 and 70%.

Before learning about the initiative I thought companies were responsible for this emission. But OHOP is designed to educate consumers and help them to make small behavior changes to reduce energy and water consumption when using RB products – BUT without having to compromise on the performance results consumers come to expect.

And the great thing is, this will also help the consumer save money on energy and water bills too.
So, we all have advantages helping and collaborating with the project!
Climate change is the most important environmental issue of the 21st century and it is extremely important for businesses.

Consumers are more committed to buying products that help them reduce their environmental impact in their day-to-day activities.

They prefer “eco friendly” products. But it’s not just consumers who are worried with this issue, trade customers want to work with suppliers who can help them deliver on their own carbon reduction objectives and employees want to be part of a company that is making a real contribution to tackling climate change.

So how does OHOP go about sharing its objective: ‘greener ways to clean and save’?
Products feature OHOP logos and ‘green panels’ on packs that give tips for energy and water saving as well as packaging disposal guidance.

Examples of these tips are:

• Vanish – Brilliant results even at 30 degrees
  Wash at 30 degrees instead of higher temperatures and get the same stain removal results by adding a scoop of Vanish powder to your wash
• Harpic – Don’t pre-flush an empty toilet before cleaning
  Before regular cleaning 7 out of 10 people flush an empty toilet. Harpic is so powerful you do not need to pre-flush to get the best results. And you can even save up to 1,375 liters of water per year.

Pay a visit to the Our Home Our Planet website . It shows local initiatives and explains, in local languages, the project objectives.
The website also features tips on greener ways to clean including laundry care tips, dishwasher tips, home hygiene tips and hard surface cleaning tips.

But what do you think of this kind of programme? Do you like them? Do you think they are important? Do you think they work? Do you prefer to buy products from companies that are concerned about environmental issues?

I look forward to your comments.